CTFROT | 2026 | Round 4 | Highlands | Qualifying | Nakamura claims pole position for the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix - Motorsport

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With just 18 points separating Freddie Slater and Ugo Ugochukwu, everything was on the line heading into the final Qualifying session at Highlands Motorsport Park, as both drivers looked to maximise their start and secure the points needed to claim the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT) for 2026.

Qualifying this weekend ran under a revised format, mirroring a Formula 1-style knockout session. Q1 ran for 15 minutes, with drivers finishing P15 to P19 eliminated and the positions setting Race 1. Q2 followed the same structure, with those classified P9 to P14 knocked out and locking in their grid spots. The top eight drivers progressed to Q3, which determined positions P1 through P8 on the grid for the New Zealand Grand Prix on Sunday.

The weekend also welcomes an additional entry, with 2024 New Zealand Grand Prix winner Liam Sceats joining the field, driving for TJ Speed with HMD Motorsport. Meanwhile, Kalle Rovanperä will sit out the event after being ruled out due to illness.

Q1: Ugochukwu with front left damage at the conclusion of Q1

Many drivers saw early lap times deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 10, yet the margins at the front were razor-thin, with the top six covered by mere thousandths of a second.

Ugochukwu, who initially had a lap time deleted, surged to the top of the timing screens with a 1:28.735 as the session entered its final six minutes. Jin Nakamura responded soon after, slotting into second with a 1:28.755. However, in the dying moments of the session, Nakamura delivered a decisive lap, going fastest by just 0.050s over Ugochukwu with under 30 seconds remaining.

Late drama then struck the championship leader, as Ugochukwu sustained damage to the front-left of his car.

Eliminated from Q1:

Fionn McLaughlin – P15
Cooper Shipman – P14
Ricardo Baptista – P17
Jack Taylor – P18
Trevor LaTourrette – P19

Q2: Slater goes fastest

Nolan Allaer will be investigated after the race for receiving outside assistance in the pit lane at the start of the session to get his car running.

With five minutes remaining on the clock, M2 Motorsport completed repairs to Ugochukwu’s front-left corner, allowing him to return to the circuit. Wood initially went quickest with a 1:28.944, before Slater slotted in behind on a 1:29.055. The 2024 New Zealand Grand Prix winner, Sceats, briefly climbed to third with a 1:29.347.

As lap times continued to tumble, the order fluctuated rapidly. Ugochukwu, running in P10 and facing the risk of elimination from Q2, delivered when it mattered most, jumping up to P6. At the front, Slater laid down the benchmark with a session-best 1:28.486.

Eliminated from Q2:

Ernesto Rivera – P9
Sebastian Manson – P10
James Wharton – P11
Nolan Allaer – P12
Yuanpu Cui – P13
Yevan David – P14

Q3: Nakamura claims pole

With 12 minutes on the clock, only eight cars took to the track in Q3, giving drivers plenty of space to find clear air. Sceats was the first to set the pace, posting a 1:29.388.

Nakamura then lit up the timing screens with a purple first sector and went fastest overall with a 1:28.339. Slater briefly moved into P2, but Ryan Wood soon displaced him, dropping Slater to P3. Ugochukwu responded with the quickest final sector to move into P2, only for Wood to reclaim the position moments later by less than a tenth of a second.

At the end of the session, Nakamura secured pole position, with Wood lining up alongside him in P2 and Ugochukwu completing the top three in P3.